Year in Review - Part I: Top local news stories printed from January-June 2025
Crews set bridge beams in place ... This past week (late January 2025) saw the premise of the new bridge over the Mississippi River at Lansing begin to take shape even more as crews from project contractor Kraemer North America set 15 decking support beams in place on the Wisconsin side of the project, with five such beams spanning from the east bridge abutment to Pier 5, five more from Pier 5 to Pier 4, and five more from Pier 4 to Pier 3. As pictured in this photo, the laying of the beams was performed by two large cranes, with the long beams being delivered by semi tractor and trailer combinations that had steerable rear wheels on the trailers in order to accommodate sharper turns, such as what they experienced turning off Wisconsin Hwy. 35 onto Hwy. 82 (the dike road) just east of the bridge location. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The items below summarize the top news stories that appeared in The Standard during the first six months of 2025, January-June.
JANUARY
A decorated high school and college athlete, a successful Division I college softball coach, an author and a mentor, Waukon native Holly Hesse has blazed a trail of achievement since her days of living within the hills and valleys of Waukon and Allamakee County, with that trail leading to a storied career of more than three decades as head coach of the Missouri State University softball program. With a laser-like focus on goals and career targets that lofted her to new heights both playing and coaching, Hesse has now retired this past year knowing she will leave at the top of her game - a game that she’s loved for so long and shared with so many others.
The daughter of LaVonne and the late Roger Hesse of rural Waukon, Holly Hesse had an inauspicious beginning, working and playing in the shadows of the family farm buildings west of Waukon. As she grew up on that family farm, her interests changed, sparking a fire as she caught fastpitch offerings from her older brother, Randy. After practicing, Randy would let his little sister toss a few, which then became a catalyst that drove the younger Hesse to go further.
Wartburg College’s Dr. Michael Bechtel was one of seven educators selected to serve in the first cohort of the National Center for Science Education’s (NCSE) Sound Science Fellowship program. Bechtel is a 1989 graduate of Waukon High School and the son of Sherry and the late Dean Bechtel of rural Monona.
During his two-year term in the Fellowship program, Bechtel will help the NCSE develop new approaches to resolving misconceptions about topics that are seen as controversial to the public and conduct research to develop best practices for teaching and learning.
To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, December 31, 2025 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
